Wading through the supermarket

Brendan Christopher Cathcart, Staff /illustrated by ted barker

After such lofty exposition of the metaphysical merits of the modern supermarket, it seemed necessary to actually go into a few to see if they lived up to the hype (my hype, but nonetheless, hype). For the sake of fair representation I set out to tackle four different supermarkets in the city. I stopped after the first one, reeling from sensory overload. It’s actually quite a distressing experience paying close attention to the cacophony of a supermarket, which is likely one of the main reasons why most people don’t. Overwhelmed by the volumes of data I collected and not knowing how to synthesize it into a readable review, I looked online for help and found some helpful guidelines on the Association of Food Journalists website (www.afjonline.com/rcrit.html). Most importantly, the website insists, I should remember that I’m dealing with somebody’s livelihood. OK. This would require delicacy, sensitivity, and passion. I put on my Marion Warhaft hat and plunged in.